


Danger Zone

by kenchang



Category: Iron Man (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 21:30:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20973356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenchang/pseuds/kenchang
Summary: In an attempt to rescue American volunteers from a war-torn region, Iron Man must deal with heavily armed rebels, surface to air missiles, and a dangerous, blood-thirsty mutant.





	Danger Zone

Billionaire inventor and superhero, Tony Stark, rockets across the skies over Mindanao in one of his yellow and red Iron Man armors, easily outpacing a military chopper.

"Jarvis, how much time before we reach the volunteers?" he frantically asks his armor's AI.

"At this speed, nine minutes and forty seconds," Jarvis calmly answers.

Then a deafening explosion startles Tony. He turns his head to see the military chopper in flames as it crashes into the trees.

"Oh, that can't be good," he fearfully mutters.

He hears an alarm. His armor is warning him of an incoming missile. Tony quickly changes direction to evade, but the missile stays with him.

"Dammit, heat seeker. Jarvis, deploy counter measures!" he commands.

From a compartment located on the Iron Man armor's hip, chaff is released into the air. The missile explodes into the decoy, but it is so close to Tony that the shockwave knocks him out of the air.

#

Crouched behind their wrecked van with her fellow volunteers, Hailey Khan covers her ears and shudders fearfully as bullets rattle all around them. It is not her first time to deliver food and medicine to a poor village in a war torn country. It is also not her first time to be shot at, and she is starting to wonder why she keeps volunteering.

Right next to her, shooting back at the enemy with a semi-automatic pistol, is Master Sergeant Jeff Hayden. He is the only one left of a seven man team sent by the U.S. government to rescue them. And it appears that, in a matter of seconds against such overwhelming odds, he is about to fail that mission.

Flying close to the ground, Iron Man bursts out from behind the trees into the clearing. He fires a repulsor beam from his palm to knock down a rebel sniper team perched on a hill.

"It's Iron Man!" one of the rebels shouts. "We were told he was taken down by one of our surface to air missiles!"

They start shooting at him, but their bullets bounce harmlessly against his armor.

"RPG!" a rebel leader commands.

"Oh no you don't," Tony says as he lands, creating a small cloud of dirt around him.

One of the soldiers loads a rocket launcher, but he is blasted by another repulsor beam before he can use it. Fortunately for the volunteers, all of their attackers have now switched targets from them to Iron Man. Hailey peeps behind cover and is instantly awestricken by the invincible superhero. Tony quickly hovers out of the way, as the more powerful rounds from the mounted heavy machine guns can seriously damage his armor. From his forearm, he launches a micro missile that obliterates one of the technicals.

"Retreat!" the rebel leader yells. "Alyas Demonyo will take care of them."

The rebel soldiers quickly drive away in their technicals. Iron Man mercifully lets them escape. He goes to check on the volunteers.

"They'll be back with reinforcements," he urgently tells them after his face mask slides open. "I suggest you all pile into that jalopy like circus clowns and follow me out of here."

"No need," Jeff replies. "I have a chopper coming to evac us out of here. Should take about a minute-"

"Sorry to break this to you, Chief. But I just saw your evac chopper go down in a ball of flames."

Jeff's face tenses angrily at the news. He says, "Then we take out their SAM sites so that we can be sent another one."

"Uh, I don't think so," Hailey interrupts nervously. "We're civilians, not soldiers. We can't take out anything."

"Really?" Tony asks with a smirk. "Not even Chinese? 'Cause I know a place."

"Are you seriously coming on to me NOW?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Kinda'. Strangely."

"We can't take out their SAM sites," Jeff tells Hailey. "But Iron Man can."

"Yea, I'm gonna pass," Tony replies. "I already danced with one of their missiles earlier. It wasn't fun. She came on too strong."

"You fucking coward."

"This fucking coward is about to save your life. AGAIN. Now, get in your van and-"

"It won't start!" Hailey says from behind the wheel.

Tony checks the engine. He could possibly repair it with spare parts from the technical he destroyed, but he doesn't have the luxury of time.

"Jarvis, plot me the shortest route to the nearest border," he commands.

A course is displayed on the lower left corner of his HUD.

"Change of plans, gang!" he announces to the small crowd. "We're going to hike it."

#

For hours, the superhero, the soldier, and the volunteers trudge through dense forests, cross strong, waist-high rivers, and hike up and down steep hills.

"How can you be so calm after everything that's happened?" Hailey asks breathlessly. "I'm still shaking, and I didn't just outrun a missile."

"Oh, I wasn't always the mountain of positivity you see before you," Tony admits. "All the horrific things I've seen and done, all the people I failed to save, all of it used to really get to me. I was depressed. Alcoholic even."

"Really? So how did you turn things around?"

"Well, it got to a point where I had to make a choice. Either learn to live with the dark side of being a superhero or quit. And I didn't wanna quit. I like being Iron Man."

Jeff gripes, "Yea, I bet you do. It gets you laid."

"I finally figured out who you really are, Jeff. You're my longtime nemesis, Captain Cockblock."

"That's MASTER SERGEANT…Cockblock…t-to you- Look, I don't have anything against superheroes. You guys do good work. But it isn't enough. You guys would stop a suicide bomber back at America, but you won't deal with the source of the problem in countries like these."

"Isn't that YOUR job, Master Sergeant?"

"Yea, and my job would be a lot easier if you never stopped supplying us with weapons like you used to."

"Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree on that. That's one of the great things about living in America, right? That it's OK for people to disagree?"

"Too bad we're not in America, now."

Suddenly, Jeff wraps an arm around Hailey's neck and presses his pistol against her temple.

"Oh my God! What the hell?!" the frightened volunteer screams.

"Sergeant, what are you doing?!" Tony asks, raising his arm, the glowing circle on his palm aimed at the soldier.

"I need your armor to defeat Demonyo!" the desperate master sergeant explains.

"What the hell is a Demonyo?"

"A mutant rebel enforcer. He killed my entire team."

"You mean that monster that attacked us earlier?" Hailey squeaks. "Your men gave their lives so that we could escape that thing. Why would you want to throw away their sacrifice for revenge?"

"SHUT UP! They were my brothers!"

"OK, Sergeant, I get it," Tony sympathetically says, trying to calm the man down. "I've lost friends and family, too. But taking my armor is not the solution. It won't make you Iron Man. I AM IRON MAN. How many times have I said that?"

"GET OUT OF THE DAMN ARMOR!"

"Okay, okay."

The front parts of the Iron Man armor open and Tony steps out. Jeff uses his gun, motioning the inventor to move away from the invention. Then he shoves Hailey into Tony's arms.

"I sure hope you're not the Avengers' negotiator," the volunteer whispers to the superhero. "You kinda' suck at it. I am Iron Man? That was the best you could do? What were you thinking?"

Jeff eagerly approaches the armor. But before he can enter, its front parts close again.

"Hey, what gives?!" the soldier complains.

Tony commands, "Jarvis, knock his block off."

On automatic, the Iron Man armor knocks Jeff out with a light jab to the face.

But just as Tony thinks that the danger has passed, Hailey screams, "TONY!"

Even though Tony has never seen the feared rebel enforcer before, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the large, hairy, gray skinned, wolf-like being barreling towards them on all fours is none other than Demonyo. Tony rushes towards his armor, but the mutant easily overtakes him. Demonyo dropkicks the Iron Man armor. The unmanned suit bounces off the ground and rolls several times on its side before coming to a halt. His sharp teeth bared, Demonyo spins to face Tony.

"Time-out, time-out!" the panicked superhero yells.

The rebel slashes at the foreigner's stomach with his razor sharp fingernails. The cuts aren't fatal but painful enough that Tony falls on his butt. The volunteers scream and scatter like frightened deer.

Demonyo is about to chase them when the injured Avenger pleads, "Just let them go. They're not soldiers. They're not your enemy. They came here to help your people, for God's sake."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the rebel answers. "I need to hold them for ransom. War is costly, as I'm sure you know, Tony Stark."

"You want money? Then hold me for ransom. You know who I am, right? My people will pay you whatever you want for my release."

"I do know you. I also know that if I lock you in a bamboo cage, you might just make a new Iron Man armor out of it. No, it's too risky. Better to make an example of you, to let the Americans know what happens to their beloved superheroes when they interfere in wars that don't concern them."

Tony chuckles. "Beloved? Me? I'm a rich, straight, white womanizer. Some Americans hate me more than they hate you these days."

Jeff shoots Demonyo in the back with his pistol. The bullets prove ineffective against the mutant's tough hide, but the soldier does manage to draw the creature's attention from Tony. The rebel swings his head around and snarls angrily.

"Get out of here, Stark!" Jeff shouts, emptying his weapon on the mutant.

Demonyo pounces on the soldier and then brutally mangles the man with his fingernails.

"NO!" Tony yells.

He almost rushes to the soldier's aid, but quickly realizes that he must not waste the opportunity he was given. Forcing himself to ignore the dying man's screams, Tony turns and slides down the hill towards his armor.

"Jarvis!" he calls.

The front parts of the armor open. Tony lies inside, and the suit closes around him. Its eyes glow blue as he retakes control.

"GET OFF HIM!" Hailey shrieks, hitting Demonyo in the back with a tree branch.

Demonyo effortlessly slaps her away with the back of his hand. Hailey falls. The branch flies out of her hands. The rebel grabs her by the collar and pulls her up to give her another slap to the face. And then another. And another. Hailey's body goes limp, and Demonyo drops her on the ground.

"If your people don't pay for your freedom, we will behead you," he tells her. "Or you can join our cause and become one of my wives."

Demonyo hears the roar of thrusters. He turns his head and is rocked by a straight right punch to the face. Iron Man follows up his attack with a left fist to the other side of the rebel's head. Demonyo swings his arm to counter attack. Tony ducks under it and fires repulsor beams from both palms point blank into his enemy's midsection. The upper half of Demonyo's body falls a second before his lower half does. He dies with his eyes wide open and his long tongue lolling from his maw.

Tony helps Hailey up. He looks down at Jeff and sadly sighs, knowing that he can do nothing for the man but bring his body home.

#

The volunteers are given medical treatment in a military camp near the border. Hailey looks for Tony and finds him already getting back into his armor.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"There are some survivors from that evac chopper that went down earlier," he explains. "They just radioed for help, so I'm gonna go get them."

"But you're hurt."

"Just a scratch. Literally, it is."

Hailey smiles and shakes her head. "You really do like being Iron Man, don't you?"

"Yea, I heard it gets me laid," Tony jokes before launching into the air. "Jarvis, music please," he commands his trusty AI.

Rock music plays inside his helmet as Iron Man flies back into the danger zone.

END

**Author's Note:**

> Don't bother writing a comment. I don't read comments anymore. But if you liked the story, kudos are still appreciated.


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